Separable fastener for wearing apparel



Dec. 31 1968 I. EDELMAN 3,418,700

SEPARABLE FASTENER FOR WEARING APPAREL Filed June 24, 1966 J I I 1' Y/ II I FIG. 2.

FIG. 3. 28

INVENTOR.

IRVING EDELMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,418,700 SEPARABLEFASTENER FOR WEARING APPAREL Irving Edelman, Franklin Square, N.Y.,assignor to Maid- Rite Novelty Corporation, Long Island City, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed June 24, 1966, Ser. No. 560,142 9 Claims.(Cl. 24-201) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a separable fastener forconnecting articles of wearing apparel by way of plastic male and femaleelements which are to transmit a longitudinally applied force, thefemale element has flat inner and outer faces parallel to the directionof such force and at least one aperture presenting opposed edgesperpendicular to the faces and extending transverse to the forcedirection, and the male element is generally Z-shaped in cross-sectionto define a body insertable in the aperture and having opposed shouldersto abut the aperture edges and prevent relative movement in the forcedirection and further to define first and second projections extendingbeyond the shoulders at opposite sides of the body to respectively lieagainst the inner and outer faces of the female element when the body isdisposed in the aperture, the first projection being laterallydimensioned for movement through the aperture and the second projectionextending laterally beyond the adjacent shoulder, which shoulder has alip along its edge remote from the second projection to snap past anedge of the aperture during insertion and removal of the body in andfrom the aperture.

This invention relates generally to a separable fastener for detachablyconnecting two parts of an article of wearing apparel and fortransmitting a longitudinally applied force from one to the other ofsuch parts.

An object of this invention is to provide a separable fastener for thedescribed purpose having two elements adapted for attachment to therespective parts of the article of wearing apparel, and which are easilyengageable and disengageable with respect to each other, while stronglyresisting the tendency of the applied force to effect disengagement ofthe elements from each other when in their mutually engaged position.

Another object is to provide a separable fastener which may beeconomically produced, preferably from plastic materials, as by molding,and which may be easily and inexpensively attached or formed integralwith the respective parts of the article of wearing apparel to bedetachably connected by the fastener.

A further object is to provide a separable fastener of the describedcharacter which affords the possibility of adjusting the relativepositions of the parts detachably connected by the fastener.

In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a separable fastenercomprises a female and male element for attachment to the parts of anarticle of wearing apparel to be connected thereby; the female elementhaving generally flat inner and outer faces in planes substantiallyparallel to the direction of the force to be transmitted by thefastener, such female element defining at least one aperture extendingtherethrough to open at the faces thereof and presenting opposed edgesextending transversely with respect to the direction of the transmittedforce and lying in planes substantially perpendicular to the planes ofthe faces of the female element; and the male element being of plasticmaterial and generally Z- shaped in cross-section to define a bodyportion insertable into the aperture through the opening of the apertureat the outer face of the female element, such body portion havingshoulders along the opposite sides thereof to abut the opposed edges ofthe aperture, and relatively offset, first and second projectingportions extending beyond the shoulders at the opposite sides of thebody portion to respectively lie adjacent the inner and outer faces ofthe female element when the body portion is disposed in the aperture,the first projecting portion of the male element having a maximumlateral dimension in the direction along the adjacent shoulder which is,at most, equal to the corresponding dimension of the aperture so thatthe first projecting portion can pass through the aperture duringinsertion and removal of the body portion, the second projecting portionof the male element constituting means by which the latter is attachedto the respective part, and the shoulder of the body portion adjacentthe second projecting portion of the'male element having a lip along theedge thereof which is remote from the second projecting portion toengage in back of the inner face of the female element when the bodyportion is engaged in the aperture of the latter, thereby to yieldablyresist outward removal of the body portion from the aperture.

In accordance with a feature of this invention, the female element ofthe fastener is of elongated, strip-like configuration and has aplurality of transversely directed apertures spaced apart therealong forselective engagement by the body portion of the male element, thereby topermit relative adjustment of the male element with respect to thefemale element when engaged with the latter.

The article of wearing apparel may be in the form of a brassiere havingthe parts thereof detachably connected by the fastener in encirclingrelation to the wearers body so that the fastener forms a releasableclosure for the brassiere.

When the fastener forms a releasable closure for a brassiere,particularly at the back of the latter, the female element of thefastener may be conveniently sewed, bonded or otherwise permanentlysecured to a tape or web extending from the respective part of thebrassiere, while the second projecting portion of the male element isattached to another tape or web extending from the other part of thebrassiere, with at least one of the tapes being longitudinally elastic,at least ,in part. The second projecting portion of the male element mayhave laterally directed Wings, in Which case the tape to which the maleelement is attached is doubled-over at a lateral fold and has an openingin the fold through which the body portion and first projecting portionof the male element extends with the wings being engageable with thefold to connect the male element to the doubled-over tape.Alternatively, the second projecting portion of the male element mayhave a transverse slot therein through which the respective tape islooped for connection to the male element.

In another application of the separable fastener embodying thisinvention, the fastener is employed to detachably connect a garter gripto a suspender tab which may depend from a ladys foundation garment. Insuch case, the female element of the fastener may be conveniently sewed,bonded or otherwise permanently joined to the suspender tab, while themale element of the fastener is integral with the frame of the gartergrip.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of this invention,will be apparent in the following detailed description of illustrativeembodiments thereof which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a separable fastener embodying thisinvention and shown employed as a back closure for 1a brassiere;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 22 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustratingdetails of the elements of the fastener which are shown in theirmutually engaged positions;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3, but showing thedisengagement of the male element from the female element;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the male element of the fastener;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a tape or web by which the male elementof FIG. 5 can be attached to a part of the article of wearing apparel;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a modified form of the male element of thefastener and of the meansby which such element is attached to therespective part of an article of wearing apparel; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational view illustrating another embodiment of aseparable fastener in accordance with this invention employed fordetachably connecting a garter grip to a suspender tab which may dependfrom a ladys foundation garment.

Refer-ring to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, itwill be seen that a separable fastener 10 embodying this invention isthere shown employed as a back closure for detachably and adjustablyconnecting body encircling parts 11 and 12 of a brassiere. Fastener 10is shown to comprise mutually engageable female and male elements 13 and14 which are respectively attached to brassiere parts 11 and 12 by wayof tapes or webs 15 and 16.

Female element 13 is of strip-like configuration and is preferablyformed of a plastic material, such as, polypropylene, linearpolyethylene, nylon, polyurethane or the like, which is either flexiblein the thickness employed, or suitably plasticized, so as to be capableof bowing or flexing in the longitudinal direction. Element 13 hasgenerally flat inner and outer faces 17 and 18 (FIG. 4), and the outerface 18 of the plastic element may have bonded thereto a thin layer oftextile fabric, as indicated at 19 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

At least one aperture 20 is punched through element 13 so as to open atfaces 17 and 18. As shown, female element 13 preferably has a pluralityof the apertures 20 formed therein at locations that are spaced apartalong such element, and each aperture 20 is preferably in the form of atransversely elongated slot presenting opposed edges 21 and 22 (FIG. 4)extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of thestrip-like element 13 and lying in planes substantially perpendicular tothe planes of the faces 17 and 18.

Female element 13 may be secured at its periphery to tape or web 15 bystitching 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2) as shown, or by being bonded directly totape 15 by heat and pressure or by a suitable adhesive. The entire tape15, or at least a part thereof between element 13 and brassiere part 11,is preferably longitudinally elastic so that, when elements 13 and 14 offastener 10 are mutually engaged, the distance between the ends ofbrassiere parts 11 and 12 thus connected at the back of the garment isresiliently extensible.

Male element 14 is formed of a plastic material which is preferablyrelatively rigid, for example, superpolyoxymethylene having a molecularweight of at least 15,000, and which is available commercially under thetrade name Delrin. As shown on FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, male element 14 isgenerally Z-shaped in cross-section to define a body portion 24 havingshoulders 25 and 26 along the opposite sides thereof, and relativelyoffset projecting portions 27 and 28 extending beyond shoulders 25 and26 at the opposite sides of body portion 24. Body portion 24 isdimensioned to be insertable in any selected one of the apertures 20through the opening of the latter at outer face 18 of the female elementand, when body portion 24 is inserted in an aperture 20, shoulders 25and 26 along the opposite sides of the body portion abut the opposededges 21 and 22, respectively, of the aperture, as shown on FIG. 3.Further, when body portion 24 is disposed in an aperture 20, projectingportion 27 of the male element lies against inner face 17 of the femaleelement, that is, between female element 13 and the underlying portionof tape 15, as shown on FIG. 3, and the other projecting portion 28which is relatively offset with respect to projecting portion 27 liesadjacent outer face 18 of the female element and constitutes the meansby which male element 14 is attached to tape 16.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGS. 1 to S,projecting portion 28 has wings 29 (FIG. 5) extending laterally beyondbody portion 24, and tape 16 is formed with a bound buttonhole orlateral opening 30 (FIG. 6) through which body portion 24 and projectingportion 27 of the male element can extend. After body portion 24 andprojecting portion 27 of the male element have been extended throughopening 30, tape 16 is doubled-over about a fold line extending throughopening 30 and then secured to itself, as by a lateral line of stitching31 (FIG. 1), whereby wings 29 of the male element are retained betweenthe fold of tape 16 and stitching 31 for attaching male element 14 totape 16.

In another embodiment of this invention shown on FIG. 7, the maleelement 14' of the separable fastener is generally similar to thepreviously described male element 14 and differs therefrom only in thatthe laterally enlarged projecting portion 28' which extends from thebody portion 24' in opposition to the projecting portion 27' and inoffset relation to the latter has a transverse slot 32 through which thetape 16' may be looped for attaching the male element of the fastener toa corresponding part of the garment.

In all instances, the maximum lateral dimension of projecting portion 27or 27', that is, the width of such projecting portion along the adjacentshoulder 25, does not exceed the corresponding lateral dimension of eachaperture 20 so that the projecting portion 27 or 27' can pass throughthe aperture during insertion and removal of the body portion 24 or 24.Thus, projecting portion 27 or 27' of the male element constitutes aguiding tongue for facilitating the insertion and removal of the bodyportion with respect to a selected aperture 20.

As shown particularly on FIG. 4, shoulder 26 of the body portion whichis adjacent the projecting portion 28 of the male element is undercut soas to have a lip 33 along the edge thereof which is remote fromprojecting portion 28 and which engages in back of inner face 17 of thefemale element when body portion 24 is fully engaged in an aperture 20,as shown on FIG. 3. Thus, the lip 33 is effective to yield'ably resistoutward removal of body portion 24 from the aperture 20.

When male element 14 is to be engaged with female element 13, theprojecting portion of guiding tongue 27 of the male element is initiallyinserted, at an angle, into a selected aperture 20 of the female elementuntil shoulder 25 bears against edge 21 of the aperture, as shown onFIG. 4. Then the male element is pressed inwardly, in the direction ofthe arrow 34 on FIG. 4, so as to rock about the edge 21 of the apertureand thereby press lip 33 past edge 22 until lip 33 exits from theaperture and engages in back of inner face 17 of the female element.When lip 33 engages in back of inner face 17, as shown on FIG. 3, suchengagement yieldably resists removal of body portion 24 outwardly fromthe selected aperture 20 in which the body portion is engaged.

When body portion 24 is thus fully engaged in a selected aperture 20 offemale element 13, a force applied longitudinally to fastener 10 indirections parallel to faces 17 and 18 of the female element, asrepresented by the arrows F on FIG. 3, is transmitted from one to theother of elements 13 and 14 and tends to rock male element 14 in theclockwise direction, as viewed on FIG. 3. It is apparent that suchrocking of the male element tends to press projecting portion or guidingtongue 27 thereof against inner surface 17 of the female element andthus cannot effect withdrawal of body portion 24 from the selectedaperture in which it is engaged.

When it is desired to disengage male element 14 from female element 13,male element 14 is rocked outwardly in the direction of the arrow 35 onFIG. 4 so that lip 33 is pressed outwardly past edge 22 of the apertureand finally freed beyond outer surface 18 of the female element. Whenlip 33 is thus freed, male element 14 can be withdrawn, in its inclinedposition, in the direction of the arrow 36 on FIG. 4. Thus, engagementand disengagement of the male and female elements are easily effectedand, when such elements are mutually engaged, as described, fastener iscapable of transmitting relatively large forces without the possibilityof inadvertent disengagement of the elements. Further, female element 13may be provided with as many spaced apart apertures as desired to permitadjustment of the distance between the body encircling parts 11 and 12of the brassiere when elements 13 and 14 are mutually engaged.

Referring now to FIG. 8, it will be seen that a separable fastener 10aconstituted by a female element 13a and a male element 14a generallysimilar to the previously described elements 13 and 14, respectively,can be employed for detachably connecting a garter grip 37 to aSuspender tab 15a which is, at least in part ,of a longitudinallyelastic tape or webbing, and which depends from a ladys foundationgarment indicated at 38. In this embodiment of the invention, the maleelement 14a of the separable fastener may be molded or otherwise formedintegrally with the frame 39 of garter grip 37 so as to constitute themeans by which such garter grip is detachably connected to Suspender tab15a at any of the selected positions along the latter defined by theapertures spaced apart in female element 13a.

Although illustrative embodiments of this invention have been describedin detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawing, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effectedtherein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A separable fastener for detachably connecting two parts of anarticle of wearing apparel and for transmitting a longitudinally appliedforce from one to the other of said parts: comprising a female elementof plastic resilient material adapted for attachment to one of the partsand having generally flat inner and outer faces in planes sub stantiallyparallel to the direction of the force to be transmitted, said femaleelement defining at least one aperture extending therethrough to open atsaid faces, said aperture presenting opposed edges extendingtransversely with respect to said direction of the force and lying inplanes substantially perpendicular to said planes of the faces; and amale element of plastic material which is generally Z-shaped incross-section to define a body portion insertable into said aperturethrough the opening thereof at said outer face and having shouldersalong the opposite sides of the body portion having parts thereof spacedapart substantially equal to the spacing of said opposed edges of theaperture to abut said opposed edges of the aperture and thereby preventmovement of said male element relative to said female element in saiddirection of the force, and relatively offset, first and secondprojecting portions extending beyond said shoulders at the oppositesides of the body portion to respectively lie adjacent said inner andouter faces of the female element when said body portion is disposed insaid aperture, said first projecting portion having a maximum lateraldimension in the direction along the adjacent shoulder which is, atmost, equal to the corresponding dimension of said aperture in thedirection parallel to said edges of the latter so that said firstprojecting portion can pass through said aperture during insertion andremoval of said body portion, said second projecting portionconstituting means for attaching said male element to the other of theparts to be connected and projecting beyond the ends of the adjacentshoulder of said body portion so as to be prevented from entering saidaperture, and the shoulder of said body portion adjacent said secondprojecting portion having a small lip along the edge thereof which isremote from said second projecting portion to snap past an edge of saidaperture during said insertion and removal of the body portion and toengage in back of said inner face of the female element when the bodyportion is engaged in said aperture, thereby to yieldably resist outwardremoval of said body portion from said aperture.

2. A separable fastener as in claim 1; wherein the plastic material ofsaid female element is relatively more flexible than said plasticmaterial of the male element.

3. A separable fastener as in claim 1; wherein said female element is ofelongated, strip-like configuration and has a plurality of aperturesspaced apart therealong for selective engagement by said body portion ofthe male element.

4. A separable fastener as in claim 1; wherein said article of wearingapparel is a brassiere and said two parts thereof encircle the body of awearer so that said fastener forms a releasable closure for thebrassiere.

5. A separable fastener as in claim 4; wherein said female element andsaid second projecting portion of the male element are secured torespective tapes for connection to said parts of the brassiere, and atleast one of said tapes is longitudinally elastic, at least in part.

6. A separable fastener as in claim 5; wherein said second projectingportion of the male element has laterally directed wings, and the tapeto which said male element is secured is doubled-over at a lateral foldand has an opening in said fold through which said body portion andfirst projecting portion of the male element extend with said wingsbeing engageable with said fold to connect said male element to saiddoubled-over tape.

7. A separable fastener as in claim 5; wherein said second projectingportion has a transverse slot therein and the tape to which said maleelement is secured is looped through said slot.

8. A separable fastener as in claim 1; wherein said article of wearingapparel is a ladys foundation garment and said two parts of the garmentare respectively a garter grip and a suspender tab depending from thegarment so that said fastener serves to detachably connect said gartergrip to said suspender tab.

9. A separable fastener as in claim 8; wherein said suspender tab hassaid female element permanently joined thereto and said male element isintegral with a frame of said garter grip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,695,592 12/1928 Kromer 242011,792,128 2/ 1931 Stevenson.

1,831,616 11/1931 Zimmerer.

1,851,730 3/1932 Rutherford 24-201 2,466,742 4/ 1949 Roehrl.

2,482,846 9/ 1949 Fox 24-206 2,567,314 9/1951 Baker 24176 FOREIGNPATENTS 247,795 12/ 1947 Switzerland.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 2235; 128-506

